March 19, 2013

Like many other nations and denominations, the Ethiopian Church maintained a series of small chapels and even an annex at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Saladin, after retaking the Holy City in 1187, expressly invited the Ethiopian monks to return and even exempted Ethiopian pilgrims from the pilgrim tax. His two edicts provide evidence of Ethiopia's contact with these Crusader States during this period. It was during this period that the great Ethiopian king Gebre Mesqel Lalibela ordered the construction of the legendary rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.

Ethiopia is today's "History of" country.

I'm going to make a list of the 10 most beautiful names of countries in the world today. Ethiopia is the list.

Supposedly, the Ark is guarded by a series of monks who die within a few years of acceding to the duty. The symptoms resemble radiation sickness and some have speculated the Ark's power may have been radiological.

I too tried an Ethiopian restaurant on Colfax, and right then, that very moment, a gay parade went by, and that was like the BEST tableside entertainment I've had since 4th of July at Aspen where they put on an adorable local parade. So those two.

But the Ethiopian meal was memorable, it was yellow sludge on a plate next to light brown sludge next to dark brown sludge next to reddish-brown sludge and large flatbread like a sponge you tear and use as a spoon to scoop up individual portions of flavorful colorful sludge, or combinations of flavorful colorful sludge as you become more and more adventurous.

And now you're most likely thinking, "Well, yes, but was it delicious? And would you go back?" And the answer would be, "Yes, you bet Djubouti.

I always liked the name Abyssinia, which I'd thought derived from "abyss", likely the oldest word in use in English, coming from the Sumerian Abzu through the Greek abyssos. I just looked up the etymology of Abyssinia, to see what was considered so abyss-y about it, and am now saddened to have learned that it is merely the anglicization of Al-Habashah, an Arabic word for the area.

So let me think instead on Ras Tafari aka Haile Selassie, the Lion of Judah and King of Kings of Ethiopia, or Rimbaud, who set up as a trade agent, gun-runner and slaver (though I see there are recent books out trying to *disappear* the last charge) in Harar, where he became quite friendly with, of all people, Ras Makonnen, governor of Harar who later fathered Haile Selassie.

Ethiopian food is considerably better in the USA than it is in Ethiopia, where it can be truly awful. And indeed the Ethiopian women are quite beautiful. There are many very black people in Ethiopia but mostly in the south. The Ethiopians are very class and caste conscious. They are also generally kind, except when they fight and then they are cruel and dangerous.

The country is still a great disaster waiting to happen. The population continues to grow rapidly as cropland is exhausted by poor farming techniques.

I believe it was at Lalibela 20 years or so ago that I was unable to convince my companions (one of whom was in fact YoungHegelian) to order the Ethiopian Steak Tartare as part of our meal. I went back another day by myself to order some and found it way rawer than Korean Steak Tartare, which I'm very fond of. (I've never tried the French version.) The Korean kind has soy sauce, pine nuts, lemon or lime juice (not sure which), garlic, green onions, and sesame seeds mixed with the ground beef, with a raw egg yolk on top: delicious. The Ethiopian kind appeared to be three-quarters of a pound of raw beef run though a blender with a little bit of salt and pepper as its only adornment. As I said, a little too raw even for me.

I would like to visit Gonder and Lalibela and if it didn't involve climbing a sheer cliff, Debra Damo as well.

Never tasted Ethiopian cuisine, but I did once read an Ethiopian grammar. The main university library didn't have one -- I had to go to the local school of theology, where there were two, if I recall correctly. One from the early 19th century, in Latin, and another from the late 19th century in English, by some British soldier or other. People cared more about learning about other lands, languages, and cultures in those days.

All I remember is ambossa sau gaddala, which I think was "the lion kills the man." Or something like that. Lovely script too, all of which I have forgotten.

Man, that's a country with a lot of history, most of it totally detached from the outside world. Inland nation, which economically speaking is a slow-moving catastrophe. They managed to avoid colonization, which is no mean feat in Africa. No mention of the Ethiopian Jews, who are probably remnants of the pre-Islamic relationship of Ethiopia with Yemen and the Jewish state or states of that era.

According to(sometimes reliable) Wikipedia, "marriage by abduction accounts for 69% of the nation's marriages, with around 80% in the largest region, Oromiya, and as high as 92% in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region."

...In parts of Ethiopia, a man working in co-ordination with his friends may kidnap a girl or woman, sometimes using a horse to ease the escape. The abductor will then hide his intended bride and rape her until she becomes pregnant. As the father of the woman's child, the man can claim her as his wife."